October 20th, 2021
by Dave Wilson
by Dave Wilson
Written By Chief Mark Keel, Chief of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED)
I’ve been in law enforcement for 42 years. I’ve worked the streets as a narcotics agent. I know the evil that exists in this world.
When I look at the impact that something as “simple” as marijuana has done to communities, impacting people’s lives, I shudder at the thought of doing anything to legalize it in South Carolina.
Since the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, marijuana has been labeled as a Schedule 1 drug – no different than opioids and fentanyl which have deadly outcomes when misused.
In South Carolina and throughout the country, marijuana is the number one reason for addiction and treatment admission for children ages 12 to 17. I have spent my career standing up for those who can’t stand for themselves. This is why I consistently voice my concerns about legalizing marijuana in any form.
And as many times as I have spoken against this issue, South Carolina is edging toward the marijuana cliff and falling prey to a drug that has led to so much turmoil for our neighbors and friends. When the General Assembly returns to Columbia in January, they are slated to debate a bill that would legalize marijuana for specific medicinal uses and bypass the laws of our country.
Never have we needed South Carolina legislation for a medicine to be prescribed by a doctor or dispensed by a pharmacy. When medicine goes through the normal FDA approval process, legislation is not necessary. But, that’s not what we are dealing with when discussing marijuana. Doctors cannot legally prescribe it. Pharmacists cannot legally dispense it. There is no way to accurately dose it.
Rather, some in the General Assembly are attempting to legislate around the FDA approval process by creating a complex scheme to cultivate, process, and dispense marijuana that still violates federal law. This bill also ultimately allows people to eat or ingest marijuana that has never been tested or had any legitimate medical review. This is a truly dangerous proposition. Perhaps this is why 77% of South Carolinians in a 2016 Winthrop poll said marijuana should be regulated by the FDA.
It is not surprising that many proponents of legislation use words like “prescribe” when discussing marijuana. They do this to appear like all other medicines. The reality is, though, that this narrative is simply false. Marijuana allowed in this legislation remains a Schedule 1 drug. It cannot be legally prescribed. It cannot be legally dispensed in a pharmacy. It cannot be legally possessed by individuals without violating federal law.
The lengths that some of these companies will go to target our youth with these dangerous products is truly reprehensible . In states with medical marijuana, dispensaries with no in-house medical professionals pop up in local neighborhoods selling marijuana products with unknown potency, with no dosing instructions, and with flashy names designed to appeal to children. This is particularly true with vape products, edibles, and oils, all of which are all legalized under proposed legislation.
My heart goes out to those who are suffering from debilitating diseases and illnesses. They are the reason I support continued clinical trials, research, and forms of medicine that are legally obtained, FDA approved, prescribed by a physician, and dispensed by a pharmacist. This is what medicine is in the 21st century.
I’ve been in law enforcement for 42 years. I’ve worked the streets as a narcotics agent. I know the evil that exists in this world.
When I look at the impact that something as “simple” as marijuana has done to communities, impacting people’s lives, I shudder at the thought of doing anything to legalize it in South Carolina.
Since the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, marijuana has been labeled as a Schedule 1 drug – no different than opioids and fentanyl which have deadly outcomes when misused.
In South Carolina and throughout the country, marijuana is the number one reason for addiction and treatment admission for children ages 12 to 17. I have spent my career standing up for those who can’t stand for themselves. This is why I consistently voice my concerns about legalizing marijuana in any form.
And as many times as I have spoken against this issue, South Carolina is edging toward the marijuana cliff and falling prey to a drug that has led to so much turmoil for our neighbors and friends. When the General Assembly returns to Columbia in January, they are slated to debate a bill that would legalize marijuana for specific medicinal uses and bypass the laws of our country.
Never have we needed South Carolina legislation for a medicine to be prescribed by a doctor or dispensed by a pharmacy. When medicine goes through the normal FDA approval process, legislation is not necessary. But, that’s not what we are dealing with when discussing marijuana. Doctors cannot legally prescribe it. Pharmacists cannot legally dispense it. There is no way to accurately dose it.
Rather, some in the General Assembly are attempting to legislate around the FDA approval process by creating a complex scheme to cultivate, process, and dispense marijuana that still violates federal law. This bill also ultimately allows people to eat or ingest marijuana that has never been tested or had any legitimate medical review. This is a truly dangerous proposition. Perhaps this is why 77% of South Carolinians in a 2016 Winthrop poll said marijuana should be regulated by the FDA.
It is not surprising that many proponents of legislation use words like “prescribe” when discussing marijuana. They do this to appear like all other medicines. The reality is, though, that this narrative is simply false. Marijuana allowed in this legislation remains a Schedule 1 drug. It cannot be legally prescribed. It cannot be legally dispensed in a pharmacy. It cannot be legally possessed by individuals without violating federal law.
The lengths that some of these companies will go to target our youth with these dangerous products is truly reprehensible . In states with medical marijuana, dispensaries with no in-house medical professionals pop up in local neighborhoods selling marijuana products with unknown potency, with no dosing instructions, and with flashy names designed to appeal to children. This is particularly true with vape products, edibles, and oils, all of which are all legalized under proposed legislation.
My heart goes out to those who are suffering from debilitating diseases and illnesses. They are the reason I support continued clinical trials, research, and forms of medicine that are legally obtained, FDA approved, prescribed by a physician, and dispensed by a pharmacist. This is what medicine is in the 21st century.
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